Last month’s announcement about the departure of Mincor Resources boss David Southam has some mining types wondering if the company is in play. Kis departure was a topic of discussion at the annual Diggers and Dealers conference in Western Australia last week. The company announced on July 27 that Mr Southam would be stepping down, to be replaced by **rielle Iwanow, a former OZ Minerals and Rio Tinto executive. The official line was that he was leaving to spend more time with his family and to pursue personal interests after spending the past 3.5 years overseeing Mincor’s return to production status. But some thought the timing of the move was odd and that it may be because a suitor is lining up for Mincor. Yet others said that the time was right for Mr Southam, and the company did say that his exit came as the company successful returned to the ranks of Australian nickel producers, with the ramp-up of its Kambalda Nickel Operations now well under way. Mincor has a market value of close to $1bn and is considered an obvious target for IGO, Fortescue Metals or BHP with its new-found love of nickel. Suitors are known to have been running the ruler over the company for a while. An acquisition of Mincor is seen as logical, along with broader consolidation of listed nickel miners in Western Australia’s Kambalda area, where Western Areas, Poseidon Nickel and IGO also operate. Mr Southam was appointed Mincor’s managing director in 2019 after working as executive director at Western Areas and holding executive roles at Brambles, ANZ and WMC Resources. He remains on the board of Ramelius Resources.
MCR Price at posting:
$2.02 Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
